Planned hydroelectric facility to power jail, courthouse

A hydropower plant planned along the Ohio River will supply electricity for county-run buildings over the next few decades, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday, promoting the move as a landmark environmental commitment.

Under a 35-year agreement with Boston-based Rye Development, the county will buy renewable power from the 17.8megawatt plant the company intends to build at the Emsworth Locks and Dams. Construction is expected to begin late in 2021 and foster up to 200 jobs, while permanent staffing for the finished facility may be two fulltime workers, according to the county.

The project requires Army Corps of Engineers approval.

The plant is set to open as early as mid-2023 and shouldn’t have any effect on recreation on the river, according to the county. Rye will pursue a lowimpact environmental certification as it works to “ensure that the local river ecosystem is protected,” the county said in a statement.

“We are investing in future generations and the environment to make the quality of life here in southwestern Pennsylvania and Allegheny County everything it can be,” Mr. Fitzgerald said in a virtual news conference.

Announced a day after President Joe Biden signed executive orders to promote renewable energy and tame carbon emissions, the partnership with Rye has been in the works for a couple of years, Mr. Fitzgerald said.

The county, which uses about 50,000 megawatt-hours a year to power operations and buildings such as the Allegheny County Jail and the Allegheny County Courthouse, expects to buy roughly 40% of the electricity generated by the plant, according to spokeswoman Amie Downs.

That commitment is key to the project, Rye CEO Paul D. Jacob said. The company intends to sell the excess power to other customers.

“With this action, Fitzgerald has signaled to other stakeholders in the community that new hydropower on existing dams will provide 24/7 renewable energy while also resulting in local infrastructure investment,” Mr. Jacob said in a statement.

Rye is likely to rely on an infrastructure investment fund and money raised in the financial markets to cover development costs, estimated in the $50 million range, he said. Such facilities can last 80 to 100 years, Mr. Jacob said.

“When you step back and think about it, we’re building what amounts to a five- or sixstory building on the bottom of the river right next to the dam,” he said. Harnessing the energy that moves through dams bears

minimal environmental impacts, he said, since the dam structure already exists.

The hydropower building at Emsworth is expected to sit about two stories above water level, Ms. Downs said.

Rye is developing 10 hydropower projects in southwestern Pennsylvania. The University of Pittsburgh has said it intends to buy all the power produced by a Rye plant planned for the Allegheny River near the Highland Park Bridge.

The company won favor with the county following a request for proposals in 2019, according to the county, which has committed to reducing its environmental impacts.

County leaders expect the arrangement to generate savings over the long term as it provides “a fixed rate and stability in [county] expenses,” Ms. Downs said. Costs to the county should average out to about $125,000 a year over the contract’s term, she said.

The county now buys much of its electricity through a consortium that shifted this year to “making its energy purchases from 100% renewable sources” through renewable energy credits, Ms. Downs said. By relying on the hydropower plant, the county each year will offset emissions equal to the power consumption of more than 3,400 households, Mr. Fitzgerald said.

Older power plants have often relied on coal, which generates carbon emissions tied to global warming. Joylette Portlock, executive director of nonprofit Sustainable Pittsburgh, cast the county’s hydropower arrangement as an illustration.

It shows “there are untapped resources that we can engage that make not just economic sense but environmental sense and improve the quality of life and place,” she said.